Theft wave spreading in Baldwin County, spurs officials to create anti-theft program

Baldwin County's "Lock it. Or Lose it." campaign is intended to encourage residents to secure cars and other property.

ROBERTSDALE, Alabama — Thefts from unlocked cars pose the fastest-growing crime problem in some areas of Baldwin County. On Wednesday, law officers announced a campaign to enlist public help to stop it.

“Lock it. Or Lose It.” encourages people to lock cars and garages, and take other steps to secure their property, Sheriff Huey “Hoss” Mack said.

Joining the sheriff at Wednesday’s announcement were representatives of several city police departments.

He said the problem is not confined to any one city or any particular area of the county.

“Countywide, statistically, all of us together are pushing 1,000 cases per year,” Bell said. “That’s 1,000 cases involving the identical crime. That’s a lot of cases.”

He said that the number of cases in Daphne has almost doubled in the last year.

“It’s the largest increase case-wise that we’ve had,” Bell said. “We see this as being a significant issue if we don’t get a handle on it. We’ve dedicated specific patrols and assets to deal with this specific problem at hand.”

He said that local people are being encouraged to not only lock cars parked at homes overnight, but also to report suspicious activity, such as groups of young people wandering through neighborhoods at late hours.

Mack said guns have been taken in some of the thefts, as well as laptop computers and smart phones.

When guns fall into the hands of criminals, it creates new dangers, he said. And thieves can tap into stolen electronics to look for bank account numbers and other personal data.